Andrew Carnegie Biography, Net Worth & Other Interesting Facts

Getting to the top of life and staying among the best influential men is never an easy task, especially when you have to start with nurturing the bottom. Andrew Carnegie is back to work. He is a well-known Scottish industrialist and philanthropist in the United States who is a perfect testament to the hard work that someone who was not born into a life of privilege can put in to achieve their dreams. Andrew Carnegie worked so hard that he exceeded all expectations, and today he is recognized as one of the richest men the world has ever seen.

Biography of Andrew Carnegie

Andrew Carnegie was born to William Carnegie and Margaret Morrison Carnegie on November 25, 1835, in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland. He was raised with his younger brother, Thomas Carnegie. Her father William was a local weaver, who managed to make ends meet. Andrew attended the Free School in Dunfermline, donated to the town by philanthropist Adam Rolland.

Things started falling apart for his family when the weaving machine was invented, it led to William losing his job and no longer being able to support his family. His mother, Margaret, later became the breadwinner of the household when she started selling jarred food to support the family. Margaret’s income was not enough, the country itself falling into famine. To enable them to relocate the family to the United States, Andrew’s parents sold their properties. Andrew was 13 when his family finally immigrated to Allegheny, Pennsylvania.

Despite the relocation, life was no better for the Carnegie family; William’s weaving business is not yet flourishing and Andrew has to join his father in search of a job. Eventually they were both employed at Anchor Cotton Mill, which is owned by another Scotsman. Andrew’s job in the cotton industry was that of a rocket boy. He worked 12 hours a day, 6 days a week and earned $1.2 a week. A year later, Andrew was starting to earn $2.5 a week and working for an Ohio-based telegraph company as a messenger. His hard work quickly promoted him to the rank of telegraph operator.

Although he couldn’t attend a regular school, Andrew Carnegie had a rewarding upbringing when Colonel James Anderson opened his personal library of 400 books every Saturday night to young working boys. Andrew became an avid reader and regularly borrowed books from the library. He felt indebted to Colonel James Anderson for the opportunity he had given him and the other working boys to develop their intellectual and reading skills. He then promised himself that young boys who did not have the privilege of going to school would enjoy the same opportunities as Colonel James Anderson, if he became rich.

Andrew started working at Pennsylvania Railroad at age 18 as a secretary/telegraph operator, earning $4 a week. At the age of 24, he was offered the position of Superintendent of the Western Division of the Pennsylvania Railroad, earning $1,500 a year. He then hired his younger brother, Thomas, as a personal secretary and telegraph operator.

After several years working in the railroad company, he parted from the company on good terms and went into the steel business, where he acquired the majority of the fortune for which he was known. He founded his company Carnegie Steel in 1892 and managed it along with some of his other companies.

When he was about to retire, he sold his Carnegie Steel Company to JP Morgan for US$303,450,000 and his share of the sale was US$225.64 million, which is about $6. 8 billion US dollars in present value. This sale enabled him to surpass John Rockefeller as the richest man in America for a few years.

Andrew Carnegie died of bronchial pneumonia on August 11, 1919 in Lenox, Massachusetts, USA.

Net value

Andrew Carnegie is known to be one of the richest men of all time. In 2014, his net worth was estimated at $372 billion, making him richer than all the wealthiest men alive.

Other interesting facts about Andrew Carnegie

• Andrew was named after his legal grandfather.
• His first job was a bobbin boy, working at Anchor Cotton Mill.
• He is the founder of Carnegie Mellon University.
• He founded the Carnegie Steel Company, known today as the US Steel Corporation.
• He and his family moved to the United States when he was 13, in 1848.
• His first earning was $1.2 a week.
• He married Louis Whitfield in 1887.
• He had a daughter named Margaret Carnegie Miller, after her mother.
• His final resting place is at Sleeping Hollow Cemetery in Sleeping Hollow, New York.